The Family Support Program is designed to provide early intervention with the highest risk young children in Marion County communities; this program is working well in reducing juvenile crime while also helping families make positive changes in their lives.

Family Support Program, which we call FSP, serves children, ages, 9 to 13, who are already involved with the Department or at risk of becoming involved. FSP staff help the whole family in a community-based team approach in which they work together with parents, children, school staff, and others of importance in the child’s life. Referrals come to us from school counselors and juvenile probation officers.

The FSP program focuses on building individual and family strengths, reducing risk factors, increasing protective factors, educational engagement/success, and achieving goals set by the family. Services are available for up to 9 months from the Family Support Specialists, Learning Specialists, and Youth & Family Counselors; they include such things as school advocacy and liaison, community resource connection, family meetings, educational testing and tutoring, individual and family counseling, skills training, and assistance with transportation.

Families referred to Family Support Program must meet specific medium to high risk criteria and be willing to participate in the program; parental participation is especially important because we work with the whole family and support parents in raising healthy families and having their children stay out of trouble. In an effort to better serve monolingual Spanish-speaking parents, we have one Family Support Specialist who is bi-lingual and bi-cultural.